RANDOLPH COUNTY, N.C.(WFMY) - Carl Ray Kennedy was arrested Tuesday in Randleman after a days-long manhunt for the registered sex offender accused of abducting his daughter.
Police in Danville, VA say Kennedy abducted 7-month-old Emma Grace Kennedy, who is his biological daughter, Sunday night. An Amber Alert was issued around 3 a.m. Monday. The NC Dept. of Public Safety says the car involved is a gold Suzuki with improper NC license tag EKZ-5093 with a Johnny's Auto Sales emblem on it.
Kennedy is registered as a sex offender in Randolph County, NC.
Kennedy is said to have access to several cars, including a:
- Blue Jeep Cherokee
- Dodge truck
- Toyota Camry
The cars could have tags FAA-1873 or EKZ-5093.
WHO IS CARL RAY KENNEDY?
WFMY News 2's Erica Stapleton went to Randolph County to get information beyond the NC sex offender registry about him. Note this report is only information we found in North Carolina.
Erica learned that Carl Ray Kennedy has quite the prior record.
Kennedy has 32 past convictions across the state since 1985. The charges and convictions range from traffic infractions, drug charges to felony sexual battery.
The sexual battery conviction comes from the case that landed him on the Sex Offender Registry Court documents say the incident happened in March 2013 and that Kennedy was charged with Assault by Strangulation. He was convicted of Felony Sexual Battery and Misdemeanor Sexual Battery.
The Registry says his last known address is on Valewood Dr. in Asheboro and it was last verified by the Randolph County Sheriff's Office on Feb. 28 of this year (2018).
In an interview with WDBJ, Emma's mother said Kennedy tried to stab her during the abduction.
Prior to the AMBER Alert, Kennedy was facing 10 pending charges in Randolph County. Those charges, indicate his address could have been in Randleman.
PENDING CHARGES | Carl R. Kennedy has 10 current charges pending against him:
From March 2018
- Felony – Distributing Cocaine
- Felony – Possession of Cocaine
- Felony – Conspiracy to Sell Cocaine
- Felony - Reported moving to another state but stayed in NC
From April 2018
- Felony – Reported moving to another state but stayed in NC
Pending non-felony charges:
- Injury to Personal Property (2 charges)
- Failure To Reduce Speed
- Failure to stop at a red light
- No insurance while operating a vehicle
- Speeding
Kennedy is due in court this week on some of the above charges.
When it comes to the AMBER Alert, Randolph County Sheriff Robert Graves urges people to be on the lookout at grocery stores, shopping centers and convenience stores in particular because Kennedy is with a baby.
"She's going to be needing clothing," Sheriff Graves says. "She's going to be needing diapers, she's going to be needing formula and all these things. He's going to have to get food for her so he or somebody has to be out getting food for this child."
Kennedy has several tattoos on his arms. Tattoo’s: skull on left forearm, skull with a bandanna over the mouth on his right forearm, an eye tattoo on the back of his right hand, a wizard tattoo on his left upper arm, and a tattoo on his upper right arm of a pitbull with “American Bulldog” written underneath of it. Call 911 if you see him.
CBS 17 reports Danville police traveled to Durham overnight after reports of a man trying to sell a baby. Officers determined that incident was not related to the Amber Alert.
A man was drinking by a pond when he said a man approached him about buying a baby according to Durham police. That man waited 30 minutes to call police about the incident and got a partial match to Kennedy's license plate number.
Danville police have set up tip lines for the public to give information about the abduction. The numbers are:
- 434-773-8318
- 434-773-8319
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